Spike
'''Spike' (a.k.a. Gentle Giant Spike, as he is called on the official site, and referred to as by fansFans compare The Land Before Time's core characters with the Toronto Raptors hroman.wordpress.com) is one of the original five main characters in the Land Before Time series. He is a Stegosaurus,The Land Before Time DVD which is referred to as a "Spike-tail" in the films and TV series. Character When Spike was still in his egg, he was separated from his biological parents. He was adopted as a brother by Ducky, and readily accepted by her parents and siblings as part of the family, despite the fact that most of the characters tended to show prejudice towards others not part of their species. Spike has a big appetite, constantly eating plants that are in his sight (including the plants that surrounded the nest he hatched in). In The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island, when he and his friends first arrived at the Big Water, he even swallowed some water that entered his mouth despite the salty flavour of seawater. He drank salty water twice again in The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water. Speech Spike's most notable characteristic is being the "mute" among the main characters, as he almost never speaks. However, as his foster sister, Ducky says in The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists he can indeed speak when he feels like doing so. The only times that he has truly "spoken" in the series are in Jourmey Through The Mists, when Ducky is nearly eaten by Dil, and he shouts her name "Duh...duh...DUCKY!", and in The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze; when he shouts "Mama!" while drowning in the hot water. In The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses, he mutters to Petrie while he and Ducky are telling Littlefoot that they aren't sure why they're mad at him; what he says sounds like "Yeah. Uh-huh." Furthermore, in the Finnish version of the original film, he says a single word; exhausted from climbing up a hill of rocks. He says "ruokaa", which means "food". Spike has also articulated in other ways, such as Scat singing the tune to "Bad Luck" while the others are singing in The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock. He also mimicked "Sharptooth speak" in The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island. Personality For a long time, Spike's personality was uncertain. However, in the TV series is an episode titled Through the Eyes of a Spiketail, in which everything throughout the episode is shown from Spike's perspective. He reveals that he is silent all of the time in order to hear the leaves "sing", and comments that his friends never hear these songs because they are always so busy talking. He is quite observant, noticing the traits of everyone around him almost immediately. He also chooses not to talk because he dislikes excessive arguing. All the same, in times of great importance or peril, he finds that his muteness can be a hinderance. He openly says that he would rather stay home and eat than go out on an adventure, as he often views their adventures as dangerous (similarly to Petrie), but out of loyalty he follows his friends nonetheless. He also cares deeply about his friends, pushing himself to go into dangerous situations to save their lives. The episode also reveals that Spike is just as intelligent as his friends in his thoughts. Development The character of Spike was inspired by Don Bluth's pet Chowhound, Cubby. Spike is Don Bluth's personal favorite amongst the characters. Bluth has described him as "A pure soul, simple, accomodating, and eager to please."The Animated Movie Guide by Jerry Beck. Published 2005, Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1556525915 Page 138 Modifications In The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure, his design was modified; he no longer had any small spikes on his tail and had more developed ridges along his back. This is presumably to make him easier for the animators to draw, but, compared to Cera's modification, Spike's isn't as drastic. Voice acting In the original Land Before Time Spike is heard laughing after the gang saves Cera from attacking Pachycephalosaurus. It is unknown who actually provided his laugh; the voice actor was never credited. Spike was voiced by Rob Paulsen from the second film on, but he hardly said any dialogue at all. Also, Jeff Bennett, the voice of Petrie, replaced Rob Paulsen for the voice of Spike in The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock (according to the end credits). In [[The Land Before Time TV Series]] episode Through the Eyes of a Spiketail, Spike's thoughts are heard as English while he sees the other dinosaurs speaking in grunts, but he seems to understand the residents of the valley. Notes * Spike does not appear in the TV episode The Great Egg Adventure because he is at the mud pools instead. References External Links *Spike at the Internet Movie Database. *Video clip of Spike's birth at YouTube.com Category:Main Characters Category:Spiketails Category:Land Before Time characters Category:Characters who don't talk Category:Fourfooters